6th District Race: 54,000 Vote Early In North Fulton

JOHNS CREEK, GA -- Voters in Georgia's 6th Congressional District have three more days before they can cast ballots ahead of the June 20 special election runoff to fill the hotly contested seat, and it appears many North Fulton County residents are taking advantage of this opportunity.

As of Monday afternoon, 54,645 ballots had been cast at the six early voting satellite locations throughout the county, Fulton Elections Director Richard Barron said.

It appears Ocee Library in Johns Creek is leading the pack, with 13,020 voters casting ballots at the facility as of Monday.

Early voting figures at the five remaining sites across the 6th District include:

• East Roswell Library: 8,779
• North Fulton Service Center: 9,651
• Milton Library: 8,191
• Alpharetta Library: 7,079
• Roswell Library: 7,925

Fulton County elections officials have mailed a total of 13,490 absentee ballots and have received 6,608 so far. With these numbers, Barron said he believes Fulton County will witness a turnout of about 80,000 voters. To accommodate the expected wave of residents performing their civic duty, Barron adds the county will have nearly 600 poll workers on hand for Election Day.

The 6th District race has attracted the attention of national politicos as well as pundits, as Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel battle for the hearts, minds -- and votes -- of constituents in the district. The 6th District, which includes North Fulton and parts of DeKalb and East Cobb counties, has been a Republican stronghold for decades. The most recent Republican to serve in the seat, Tom Price, was tapped to serve as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary for President Donald Trump's administration.

The average wait time for people venturing out to the early voting sites can range from 10 to 20 minutes, Barron said. Of course, those times can vary depending on the time of the day.

Those watching the race remember all too well the mishap that caused an hour-long delay in tallying the votes during the April 18 special election. The Congressional special election was held in conjunction with special elections in the City of South Fulton, Johns Creek and Roswell.

A memory card inserted into a machine did not properly tally votes recorded onto the device, which forced officials to halt the count and hunt for the faulty card, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.

"The May delay was the result of three databases in play," Barron said. "Three different authorities called three different elections at three different times. It forced us to create three databases. That had never happened in Georgia."

So, what are the chances of that happening again?

"That error is not a possibility," he added, noting there will only be one database election officials will have to handle next week.

The deadline to vote early is 7 p.m. Friday, June 16. Of course, residents are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last minute if voting early is in your plans. If you do, Barron said to expect long lines on Friday and on Tuesday.

Early voting locations in North Fulton County are:

• Alpharetta Library, 10 Park Plaza, Alpharetta
• East Roswell Library, 2301 Holcomb Bridge Road, Roswell
• North Fulton Service Center, 7741 Roswell Road Room 232, Sandy Springs
• Milton Library, 855 Mayfield Road, Milton
• Robert F. Ocee Library, 5090 Abbots Bridge Road, Johns Creek
• Roswell Branch Library, 115 Norcross Street, Roswell

If you love the tradition of voting on Election Day, keep in mind that Fulton County has changed 12 polling locations due to "unforeseen circumstances." County officials have mailed a little more than 109,000 notification letters to households affected by the change, and voters are encouraged to verify if this will impact their trips to the polls.

Additionally, all voters who registered to vote by the May 21 deadline and who live in the district are eligible to vote in the June 20 runoff, even if they did not vote in the April 18 special election.

Voters with questions about the elections or their voter status are encouraged to visit the mvp.sos.state.ga or contact the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections at (404) 612-7020.

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